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European delivery with kids
I am considering a Euro delivery of a 545 in September. My kids will be 5 and 2 at the age of travel. Has anyone here had a similar experience? I would fly out of Dulles and will have 8hrs flight non-stop each way. Any information from someone with experience, such as how to "sedate" your kids on the flights and what to do in Europe with kids will be appreciated.
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Quote: | I am considering a Euro delivery of a 545 in September. My kids will be 5 and 2 at the age of travel. Has anyone here had a similar experience? I would fly out of Dulles and will have 8hrs flight non-stop each way. Any information from someone with experience, such as how to "sedate" your kids on the flights and what to do in Europe with kids will be appreciated. | You'll be OK with the 5 year old, but the 2 year old may be too young not just for the flight but also the time change and not having all the amenities as back home. Remember that the flight back is 10hrs and is all daytime, that is the toughest one. As far as sedation you have two choices Atarax(hydroxyzine HCL) or Benadryl(diphenhydramine), but always consult your pediatrician prior to using . If you are going to try any of these two products you need to do it before the trip in the comfort of your home because they may have the opposite effect (stimulant)on the child. My non ED delivery experience was on my 3rd day my oldest became ill and I had to take her to the ER, that was the end of my trip eventhough I was staying with close family with medical ties. You also will not be able to drive as much without stops. Good luck 
| | Reply » European delivery with kids |
Quote: | I am considering a Euro delivery of a 545 in September. My kids will be 5 and 2 at the age of travel. Has anyone here had a similar experience? I would fly out of Dulles and will have 8hrs flight non-stop each way. Any information from someone with experience, such as how to "sedate" your kids on the flights and what to do in Europe with kids will be appreciated. | a couple of years ago, and agree with Yamilrx's take on "sedation." We decided not to worry about it (with 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 yr. old boys). We flew from Honolulu overnight to SF, long layover at the SF airport, and another overnight, non-stop to Frankfurt. I think we explored every square inch of SFO, legally and otherwise  depending on where the kids wandered off to. We flew to Frankfurt because we have friends there and stayed with them for a few days before taking an early train down to Munich for ED p/up mid afternoon the same day, a Friday. Flight back was out of Frankfurt, and was looooooooooooooonnnnnnnng...The older boy handled it better than the younger one did, but he was actually pretty good until the last hour into Honolulu. Next time we'll likely spend a day or two in the Bay area before we return to Honolulu.
Tips:
pack light. Set out what you think you need and get rid of half of it. EXCEPT: take a wide variety of small, durable toys that don't roll away when dropped. Look for funky toys in Europe, too. Nice, useful mementos.
Plan on lots of stops; drives of an hour or less with outdoor destinations are great. Shopping malls work too, and there are few of them around the country side. You'll find Burger kings and the like a long the autobahns--not great food, but useful for the occasional kid freak out. 90 % of the time we ate "local" food.
Parks we liked: EuropaPark in Rust, just SE of Strasbourg, and Legoland about an hour west of Munich. Zoos in Frankfurt and Munich. Lots of public parks and castles (outside).
We had an advantage (which you may also have) in that we had friends we could stay and spend time with throughout the trip. The kids were great icebreakers at other times and cold war hawk creators some of the time. Make sure the restaurants you go to are okay with kids--Italy was great, but Germany was less so for us.
We found we could get all the toddler supplies--diapers, baby wipes, clothing--quite easily, except Desitin, which our youngest needed. Hard to find an equivalent, at least something with the 40% zinc oxide.
If I can think of any thing else important, I'll follow up. I found that as long as I let the kids be the center of what we did outside the car, and the car the center of MY trip while driving, I was fine. There were those longing looks at cathedrals and museums from the outside that were bitter sweet, though. Keep your expectations in check, and have a great trip.
Scott
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Not having any kids and unqualified to comment, but personally, I'd leave the kids at home if possible and take a nice ED vacation for yourself and your spouse. I've already had to clean tons of scuff marks, mud, and oily finger marks in my back seats because of cousins and kids; perhaps you deserve a vacation just to "enjoy your new car"?
Just my opinion.
| | Reply » European delivery with kids |
You have given me excellent advice. I know I can handle the 5 y/o, but I am sure that it will be a long flight for the 2 y/o. I am pretty convinced that I will be doing it. Despite all the cons, I think it will be worth it at the end. I have heard of a lot of stuff to do for kids around Munich, which includes legoland, which you suggested, as well as castles, toy museums, and some "fairy tale" roads in which many of the Brothers Grimm's tales originated from. I intend to drive and make frequent stops to let the kids frolick and run freely in the Bavarian outdoors. As for leaving the kids, I don't think we can handle being an ocean a way and enjoying the trip, specially my wife. So for us, is either do it with the kids or not do it at all. I will take your advice about the "sedation" (I am a physician, although not a pediatrician...a pediatrician friend of mine suggested dramanine). I am strongly considering taking our nannie, though. Like Sting once said, I guess the germans (or russians) love their children too...and must have stuff for them to do for fun. Thanks again for your information and I will be looking in here for other suggestions.
| | Reply » European delivery with kids |
Quote: | You have given me excellent advice. I know I can handle the 5 y/o, but I am sure that it will be a long flight for the 2 y/o. I am pretty convinced that I will be doing it. Despite all the cons, I think it will be worth it at the end. I have heard of a lot of stuff to do for kids around Munich, which includes legoland, which you suggested, as well as castles, toy museums, and some "fairy tale" roads in which many of the Brothers Grimm's tales originated from. I intend to drive and make frequent stops to let the kids frolick and run freely in the Bavarian outdoors. As for leaving the kids, I don't think we can handle being an ocean a way and enjoying the trip, specially my wife. So for us, is either do it with the kids or not do it at all. I will take your advice about the "sedation" (I am a physician, although not a pediatrician...a pediatrician friend of mine suggested dramanine). I am strongly considering taking our nannie, though. Like Sting once said, I guess the germans (or russians) love their children too...and must have stuff for them to do for fun. Thanks again for your information and I will be looking in here for other suggestions. | I would take them in your case since leaving them is not an option with the spouse. I still consider taking mine since they keep asking "when we are getting the BMW in Germany". I think the advice of packing as lite as possible helps because if the smaller one is not fully toilet trained you will likely need to take enough diapers to last you a couple of days. You also have to factor the extra expense into the equation, although the trip I really didn't count as an expense. I was planning on going around there anyways. You'll be fine if you have the patience and do frequent stops like you mentoned. 
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European delivery with kids